How to Evaluate a Web Page

How to Evaluate A Web Page

• To evaluate a web page look for:– Purpose– Sponsor/Owner– Organization and Content– Bias--political or issue stance (of the author or sponsor)– Date of Production/Revision– Usefulness – Authority/author – Audience– Coverage– Illustrations – Security

Purpose

• Purpose: Why was the page created? To: – Inform

For example: laws, regulations, and services (governmental sites--federal, state, local), available collections and services (library sites), available courses, programs, and services (educational sites).

– EntertainFor example: games, puzzles, pictures (with various ratings), books, magazines, "gossip," information about television or radio shows, celebrities, fictional characters.

– Share informationFor example: hobbies (genealogy, stamp collecting), fandom (actors, celebrities, shows)

– Advertise/Sell a product or service (business/marketing)For example: almost any product imaginable from flowers to automobiles.

Purpose(cont.)

– Influence views, beliefs, elections (advocacy)For example: pro/con {issue}, actual and parody candidate/ballot issue pages.

– Provide up-to-the-moment newsFor example: current events, play by play sports, television and radio stations, newspapers. Related to advertising, because the pages want readers to continue accessing them or to watch or purchase another version.

– Personal enjoyment For example: pages created by individuals (child or adult) who are not affiliated with any group or organization. These may have some or many of the above mentioned purposes (and occasionally provide excellent information and/or links to other pages), although most of them are "for fun."

Sponsor/Owner• Sponsor/Owner: On what type of Internet provider or organization

does the page reside? (Provenance.)

– Government agency: federal, state, city, county (address frequently includes .gov) Governmental sites have "official" information. For example, the text of the Code of Federal Regulations or a bill or resolution is a primary source and is therefore a valuable resource.

– Educational: University, college, high school (address frequently includes .edu) Educational sites give "official" representation for organizations that offer education. Departmental pages (including the library) frequently have links to sites by subject--a good way to find pages recommended by someone who has expertise in the field. Educational sites may include pages created by students for personal enjoyment.

Sponsor/Owner(cont.)– Business/Company (address frequently includes .com)

These sites are created to promote a company's goods and services; at an increasing number of sites these can be purchased online.

– Association: Professional, Trade, Entertainment (address frequently includes .org) Association sites are designed to recruit and provide information to current members.

– News bureau: television, newspaper, radio (address frequently includes .com) News sites promote the network (shows), station (often the local news), or print publication. An increasing number of publications are available online only. Currency is very important.

– Personal (Individual) These pages are created for the enjoyment of the creator and his/her family and friends.

Organization and Content

• Organization and Content:

– Is the page organized and focused?

– Is it well designed?

– Is the text well written?

- Are the links relevant and appropriate?

- Are the links evaluated?

Bias--political or issue stance

• Bias--political or issue stance (of the author or sponsor): some web pages have an inherent bias that will impact everything that appears on them. Is the author or sponsor: – left/liberal? – right/conservative? – center? – a political action (PAC) group or association? – a business

Date of Production/Revision

• Date of Production/Revision:

– When was the web page produced?

– When was it last revised?

– How up-to-date are the links?

– Are the links still viable?

Usefulness• Usefulness: Is the web page relevant to the current research

project? A well-researched, well-written, etc. page is not going to be helpful if it does not address the topic at hand. Ask, "is this useful to me?" If it is useful, does it: – support an argument – refute an argument – give examples (survey results, primary research findings, case studies,

incidents) – provide "wrong" information that can be challenged or disagreed with

productively

Very important: does the page have an identifiable, respectable author and/or sponsor? If not, the page must be used with caution.

Authority/author

• Authority/author: – Who is responsible for the page?

– Is the author an expert in this field?

– What else has he/she written or produced?

– Does the author provide an e-mail address?

– How accurate is the provided information?

– Is a bias evident?

Audience

• Audience: To what type of reader is the web page directed? Is the level appropriate for your needs?

Is the page for: – general readers,

– students (elementary, high school, college, graduate),

– specialists or professionals,

– researchers or scholars?

Coverage – Illustrations - Security

• Coverage: Does the page cover the topic comprehensively, partially or is it an overview?

• Illustrations: Are the graphics clear in intent, relevant and professional looking? Do the graphics add to or enhance the content?

• Security: Are security and/or encryption systems employed when necessary?